It's a pattern in town: A new chain opens its doors in the Mesilla Valley, and Las Crucens flock to the new kid on the block, eagerly awaiting a taste of the new place.

This week, Dunkin' Donuts is the desired delight.

Lines have regularly stretched out the door since the store opened Tuesday. Even in Thursday's drizzle, the queue reached under the temporary canopies set up outside while a steady flow of cars passed through the drive-thru.

"People just want to try new things," Jim Suterko said while waiting outside Dunkin Donuts with granddaughter Torryn Given, 11. "It's something new in town, so they all try it."

"The lines will always shorten," he said.

It's Torryn's first time at Dunkin', in search of a glazed treat. Suterko and his wife are originally from Chicago where the Massachusetts-based chain is much more prominent.

He and Torryn decided to brave the drizzle and line Thursday because "My wife has a taste for Dunkin' Donuts," he said.

Cristina Rivadeneira and her two daughters stopped by Dunkin' Wednesday, and again on Thursday.

Dunkin' Donuts used to have a franchise in Las Cruces, but closed its doors years ago. Now the store is back, bringing its orange and pink colors to North Main Street -- and attracting crowds.

Angelica Barrior-Guerrero always waits three months before trying a new chain that opens in town.

"The whole rest of town seems to be in a rush especially when it's a new food place," she wrote on the Sun-News Facebook page. "It's a Las Cruces phenomenon."

Tiffany Santos wasn't deterred by the long lines this week, driving out of her way and waiting in line for ten minutes to get doughnuts.

"The line at DD is because it is so yummy!" she wrote on Facebook. "We have needed a good donut place for so long."

The store has had a "really good" opening, Dunkin' Donuts District Manager Dallen Rowe said.

"We're happy for the success," he said. "We're glad to be in Las Cruces."

Las Cruces is one of the fastest-growing cities in New Mexico, and Dunkin' doesn't aim to be behind the curve, Rowe said. The company wants to get a foot in the door, he said, and get a head start on the doughnut and coffee competition that will likely arrive in the coming years.

The chain plans to open a second location off East Lohman Avenue, though no time line has yet been set.

Las Cruces has a good demographic for Dunkin', Rowe said, but there's another factor behind the store's success this week as well.